The Holy Martyr James of Persia (422); Our Venerable Father Palladius
Galatians 5:22-6:2; Luke 10:19-21
Nativity Fast.
Read Luke 10:19-21
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
We truly have a joyful gospel reading today brothers and sisters! The apostles, having returned from a successful missionary journey where even demons submit to them in Christ’s name, they naturally rejoice with the Lord, and He in turn with His Father.
We have many accounts throughout history of not only the apostles performing amazing miracles, but also their descendants, the saints, performing many as well. When these successes occur, it is easy to get tempted to believe that we are succeeding by our own merits and due to our own amazing talents. Remember Moses in the desert, striking the rock in a manner he wasn’t instructed to by the Lord (Num 20:9-11)?
Today, take a step back to appreciate the Lord’s hand in the successes of your life. Just as He gave the apostles authority over the forces of darkness, recognize that we really don’t have anything of our own that hasn’t been gifted to us.